


Disconnected

by SocialDegenerate



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Confessions, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 19:33:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13724511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SocialDegenerate/pseuds/SocialDegenerate
Summary: Ignis is shattered to hear that Gladio and Noctis are apparently "friends with benefits"“Super hot Gladio, who could break me in half with his pinkies, is your friend with benefits?” Prompto still sounded disbelieving but vaguely awed, and Ignis caught himself agreeing with his characterisation of the Shield.





	Disconnected

**Author's Note:**

> This was entirely inspired by a [Tumblr post](http://moonlandingwasfaked.tumblr.com/post/170705662231), but fair warning that the story will be spoiled if you look at that first.
> 
> There are brief references to underage sex here, but not _really_? You'll see what I mean, but I figured I should warn for it regardless.

“Yeah, I think Gladio and I are friends with benefits.”

Barely managing to avoid slicing off the tip of his finger, Ignis sat the knife aside and tried to breathe through the sudden increase in his heart rate, turning his full attention to the conversation happening on the couch in front of him. Thankfully Noctis and Prompto were facing away from him, focused on the silly movie playing on the TV, and they couldn’t tell that he was more interested in their conversation than the dinner preparations.

“Gladio,” Prompto said dubiously, and Ignis felt much the same. He’d missed the start of the conversation, but surely Gladio wouldn’t…

The prince had _barely_ turned sixteen. It wasn’t illegal, but Ignis certainly thought it was in bad taste for the Prince’s Shield to start sleeping with him the moment he came of age. The sour burn of jealousy in his gut had nothing to do with his reaction: it was improper behaviour, and Noctis certainly wasn’t being as discreet about it as he should have been if he was spilling the details to Prompto.

“Super hot Gladio, who could break me in half with his pinkies, is your friend with benefits?” Prompto still sounded disbelieving but vaguely awed, and Ignis caught himself agreeing with his characterisation of the Shield. How long had he spent thinking about the way that Gladio had been steadily bulking up, the way that he’d gone from a tall child to a grown man?

“Uh, yeah,” Noctis said casually, smacking Prompto on the shoulder. “Why wouldn’t he be? I’m a delight to be around, dude. He does stuff for me, and I do stuff for him.”

Very carefully not thinking about what that _stuff_ could be, Ignis tried to turn his focus back to dinner. His hand was shaking when he went to pick up the knife, though, and he laid it flat on the counter with a frown. In some stupid teenage fantasy he’d let himself believe that, if Gladio ever _did_ realise that he was into men, it would be because he’d realised how much he wanted Ignis back.

It kind of hurt to know that he’d only found out that his two closest friends were- gay? Bi? What?- because of a conversation he wasn’t even part of. He’d come out at fifteen himself, and it had been one of the most frightening experiences of his life; he didn’t begrudge Noctis and Gladio for their choices, but some part of him had to wonder if they didn’t care enough to let him know that he wasn’t alone.

Of course, that was a ridiculous thought and Ignis forced it away before he could let it upset him.

“Man, I’m so jealous,” Prompto whined, but it sounded more playful than what Ignis was feeling. “Wish I had a friend with benefits.”

“Just invite Gladio over one day, he’s chill like that.”

Prompto spluttered, arms flailing as he tried to process what Noctis was telling him, and Ignis was genuinely shocked that Noctis was so calm about everything. This was the boy who clammed up at the first hint of anything personal, talking casually about...about…

About _fucking_ his Shield.

“Dude, no, I’m so far below his league, and, y’know, fifteen,” Prompto said. Ignis _definitely_ agreed with the last part: Noctis might have been legal, but Prompto wasn’t quite there yet. At eighteen, surely Gladio would have better sense than that.

Noctis, though, simply shrugged and slouched further back into the couch. “I don’t think he really cares about that. Send him a text, see what he says.”

Feeling like he was about to throw up, Ignis looked at the barely-touched food in front of him, his own appetite and motivation completely abandoning him. He only felt a tiny twinge of guilt as he threw away what couldn’t be kept, shoving the rest back into the fridge and pantry before quickly rinsing everything he’d dirtied.

Stepping out from behind the kitchen island, Ignis collected his jacket and bag, walking over to stand next to the TV. “I’m sorry, boys, but I’m not feeling well. I don’t want to risk giving you anything by cooking your food, so you can use Noct’s credit card to order delivery.”

“Shit, Specs, are you okay?” Noctis asked, and even though his bitter jealousy Ignis was touched by the genuine concern on his face. He went to stand up, but Ignis waved him down.

“I’ll be fine. I’m going to go home and rest up for tomorrow; please don’t stay up too late.” He knew they would, but he couldn’t stand there any longer and wonder if Noctis and Gladio had fucked on that very couch, or up against the kitchen counter, or-

Suppressing a shudder, Ignis said his goodbyes and left without further delay. He didn’t like to make Noctis worry, but there was nothing for it.

At least his apartment was empty when he returned home, his uncle obviously pulling another long night at the Citadel. There was no one to question his disgusted anger that melted quickly into hurt jealousy, to try and make him talk about why he looked so _sad,_ and Ignis crawled into bed without bothering to eat.

He supposed that Gladio probably _would_ entertain him if he asked, but he didn’t want to add himself to the list of Gladio’s casual flings. He wanted to date him, to hold his hand in public, to be welcomed into the Amicitia family as Gladio’s Boyfriend rather than as a friend.

Those weren’t new feelings, but Ignis had previously been able to squash them with the knowledge that Gladio was probably straight. It hurt less if he knew that Gladio didn’t want him because he simply wasn’t attracted to men.

Apparently, though, Gladio wasn’t attracted to _him._ He was attracted to Noctis just fine, if Noctis himself was to be believed- and Ignis didn’t think he had any reason to lie. Trying to take Gladio away from Noctis would be the wrong thing to do, even if they weren’t serious, and Gladio had obviously made his choice.

It took a long time for Ignis to fall asleep, unable to stop himself from thinking back over Noctis and Gladio’s interactions to find some hint of what they were apparently doing. They were close, obviously, but Ignis couldn’t point to anything in particular that would imply more.

Instead of making him feel better, though, that only made him wonder how long they’d been getting together underneath his nose. What kind of obvious signs had he completely missed?

Astrals, he was so _stupid_ to let himself believe for even a second that Gladio would want him, much less want him over Noctis.

* * *

When he woke up, feeling like he’d barely rested at all, it was because his phone had gently pinged with a new message. He was tempted to ignore it, but it would be remiss of him to let his emotions get in the way of his duty.

When he saw that it was from Gladio, though, he let out a quiet groan.

‘ _Hey, Noct said you got sick last night,’_ the message read when Ignis finally managed to open it. ‘ _I’ll pick the kids up for school, you’ve got a meeting at 9 right? I can tell dad you won’t be there if you want.’_

Putting his head in his hands, Ignis let his phone fall onto the mattress. Gladio was so good and so thoughtful, and Ignis was honoured to be his friend. He couldn’t throw that all away over a stupid one-sided crush.

Picking up his phone again, Ignis typed out a quick reply, keeping his irritating emotions out of it. He should probably have told Gladio he was fine to collect Noctis and Prompto for school, but he was already feeling the effects of how little sleep he’d had. An extra hour or two of rest would be greatly beneficial.  ‘ _Thank you, I appreciate that. I’ll be fine for the meeting but let me know if there’s anything I can do to make up for this.’_

‘ _Just feel better, k?’_ The response was almost instant, and despite everything, it made Ignis smile.

His extra time in bed didn’t involve too much sleep, but he still felt far more refreshed when he finally dragged himself to the shower. He’d heard his uncle leave not long after Gladio had messaged him, so he let himself linger under the hot water until the worst of the previous night had been washed away.

There was still a bitterness in him that he knew wasn’t going anywhere so easily, but at least he felt vaguely human again. He had a long morning ahead of him, sitting in on a meeting with King Regis and the Council in Noctis’ place, and he needed to be able to take coherent notes.

Letting himself fall into autopilot, Ignis fixed his hair and dressed, followed up by making himself a decent breakfast of fresh fruit and muesli. After not eating dinner, he knew he would struggle to even make it through the morning without eating properly. For all he lectured Noctis about nutrition, he had to remember to take his own advice, and even though he wasn’t hungry he forced the meal down his throat.

With little else to do, Ignis decided to gather his belongings and head into work, deciding that being early to work was a better choice than continuing to mope about at home.

He arrived at the Citadel with plenty of time to spare, heading to the designated meeting room despite how early he was. He froze in the doorway when he saw King Regis already seated there, talking casually with Clarus Amicitia; Clarus had obviously said something that made Regis laugh, his head tipped back and looking younger than Ignis had seen him in years.

“My apologies,” Ignis said when the sound of the door opening interrupted them. “I didn’t realise you would be here already, so I can go.”

“Ignis! No, please make yourself comfortable,” Regis said easily, and Ignis couldn’t turn the invitation down. Taking his usual seat at the table and feeling a little uncomfortable at being so far down from the other two without the other council members present, Ignis wondered if he should say something.

Regis beat him to it, though, smiling gently from the head of the table. “How are you? Is my son running you ragged?”

“I’m doing well, thank you,” Ignis said politely, dredging up a smile. “And yourselves?”

It was easy enough to exchange pleasantries with the two men he’d known for most of his life, regardless of their higher stations. Still, the whole time Ignis could only focus on how _easy_ it would be to tell them about what their sons were doing when no one was looking.

If he’d been a worse person, if he’d adored Noctis and Gladio a little less, maybe he could have done it. They would certainly be disciplined, if not separated altogether: Iris was young, but she could be trained as Shield easily enough.

And yet Ignis couldn’t do it.

It would break their hearts to be separated. Whatever their relationship was, it was obvious that they cherished each other, and Ignis wasn’t cruel enough to stand in their way. Still, if Noctis was loudly telling Prompto all about what they were obviously trying so hard to hide, there was a chance that Regis and Clarus would find out regardless.

Talking to Noctis would have been a lost cause: he understood discretion, but he was still too young to always recognise the full consequences of his actions. Ignis supposed that was partly his fault for taking the fall for their youthful misbehaviour so often, but there was nothing he could do about it.

After the meeting he was free until school let out, so he would have time to speak with Gladio. He might not have approved of what they were doing but that didn’t mean he wanted to see them get hurt if someone else found out. Gladio knew full well the weight of his own decisions, and surely he would be able to convince Noctis- and Prompto, if necessary- to keep their mouths shut in the future.

Thankfully the rest of the council filed in soon enough, and Ignis lost himself in the intricacies of the refugee crisis. He wasn’t expected to participate as Noctis’ proxy, but it felt beyond good when his few minor suggestions were acknowledged. The council didn’t respect him but they _did_ respect that Regis and Clarus respected him; it wasn’t an ideal situation, and yet Ignis knew it was as good as he could hope for.

When he was finally let out, he checked the time and realised that Gladio would be training with the rest of the Crownsguard. It wasn’t ideal to drag him away from that, but it was hard to find time away from Noctis in which they could speak.

Resolving to apologise to Cor and Clarus personally, Ignis headed for the training rooms, his feet feeling heavier with every step.

He was not looking forward to the conversation. It would be awkward for both of them, as well as potentially painful, and Ignis wished this was one of the things he could simply ignore. But with Noctis and Gladio’s professional relationship at stake on top of their friendship, he knew he had to put his own feelings second.

Letting himself into the training room, Ignis looked around and spied Gladio in the far corner. One of the more senior members was leading the training session, and she was the first to spot Ignis standing in the doorway. Pointing to Gladio, Ignis received a nod in return, and he waited while the trainer wrapped up her current exercise and sent Gladio his way.

Covered in sweat and wearing shorts and a tank top, Gladio looked utterly delicious as he jogged over, and Ignis had to remind himself why he was really there.

“Hey, Iggy. Something wrong?”

“I’m sorry for disturbing your training,” Ignis said as he managed to drag his eyes away from where Gladio’s singlet was clinging to his chest. The start of his tattoo was crawling down his arms, but Ignis didn’t let his eyes linger there either. This was professional business, even if Noctis and Gladio’s behaviour was anything but. “It’s not an emergency, but I do need to speak with you about Noctis. Immediately, if possible.”

“Yeah, sure,” Gladio said, and the worry in his eyes made Ignis melt. He cared _so much,_ and Noctis was lucky to have him. Gladio jogged back to speak with his trainer, and she nodded at him; Ignis hoped that Gladio wouldn’t be stuck behind running too many extra drills for the unscheduled interruption. It couldn’t be helped, though, and so he let Gladio lead him to one of the nearby offices.

“Got permission to use Jurare’s office, figured we might need some privacy.”

“That would be best,” Ignis agreed, forcing himself not to fidget as they sat in front of her desk. “But I still think you should use her title, even if you grew up around her.”

“Aunt Ju doesn’t give a fuck what I call her,” Gladio laughed, and Ignis shook his head in mock dismay.

“No wonder Noctis has such a problem with respecting authority,” Ignis said, and Gladio laughed louder. Ignis’ own smile dropped, though, and Gladio went silent as soon as he noticed the changed atmosphere.

“Hey, you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just…” Trailing off, Ignis took a deep breath and tried to meet Gladio’s eyes. “I need to talk to you about Noct.”

“So you mentioned. What’s the brat done this time?” Gladio’s casual act was quite impressive, Ignis had to admit. Either he didn’t think that they’d been found out, or he was _very_ good at hiding it.

“I overheard him telling Prompto something personal,” Ignis started, forcing himself to continue before he could talk himself out of it. “Something about you.”

“Oh, fuck,” Gladio said. The casual warmth was gone, replaced instead with horrified shock, and all Ignis could do was shrug.

“I know you didn’t intend for people to find out-”

“Iggy, look. I told him to keep his mouth shut. I didn’t want you to find out like this, I promise: I was going to talk to you, but every time I tried I...couldn’t.”

It wasn’t an excuse that soothed the hurt still burning away in him, but Ignis was glad to hear that Gladio had at least _intended_ to talk to him about it. “Yes, well…”

“I totally get it if you’re uncomfortable. It’s not exactly the right thing for me to want, but I can’t help it. I’m sorry.” His thick eyebrows drawn together, Gladio glanced at Ignis and then looked to the ground. He seemed so distressed that Ignis felt bad, and he reached out to put a hand on Gladio’s shoulder.

“I can’t say that I approve, but..if you want to continue with Noctis, I won’t stand in your way. You just need to tell him to be more subtle about it.” Staring off into the distance somewhere beside Gladio’s head, Ignis didn’t notice when Gladio’s expression went from worried to confused.

“Wait, what?”

“You and Noct,” Ignis said, still unable to look at Gladio. “You need to reiterate how important discretion is. He told Prompto that you two are _...involved,_ and I don’t think I need to stress to you how important it is that your fathers don’t find out due to loose lips.”

Realising that his hand was still on Gladio’s shoulder, Ignis let him go and tried not to curl in on himself too much. It was out there now, and maybe he could begin to heal.

“Iggy…”

“I won’t make you justify yourself.”

“Fucking Bahamut above, Ignis, look at me.” Gladio’s hand were warm on his face when he physically turned Ignis to face him, and Ignis nearly chased them when they drew back. Finally seeing Gladio’s expression, though, his own stoic look faded into confusion.

“Me and _Noct?”_ Gladio asked, wide-eyed. “What the fuck is he saying about me?”

“He was telling Prompto that you two are, ah, I believe ‘friends with benefits’ was the term.”

“He did _what?”_ Gladio roared, and Ignis flinched. The offices were reasonably soundproofed, but surely that would have been heard across the Citadel. Ignis opened his mouth to explain, to minimise, to do _something_ but Gladio held up a hand to silence him and pulled his phone out.

“I’m calling him,” Gladio said, despite the fact that Noctis was in the middle of his history class. Although his teachers were instructed not to treat him differently, there was an exception for Citadel business, and Ignis wasn’t surprised when the speakerphone call connected.

“Thanks for getting me out of that bullshit class, Gladio. What’s up?”

“Your education is not bullshit,” Ignis couldn’t help but say, and he heard Noctis inhale sharply.

“Heyyy, Iggy.”

“Focus,” Gladio growled, holding the phone between the two of them. “Noct, what the hell kind of shit are you talking about me?”

“Nothing!” Noctis said, and for a brief moment Ignis felt bad for him. Placing his hand over the phone’s microphone, Ignis leaned towards Gladio, keeping his voice soft.

“Is this really the time for this conversation? I know he’s not the most discreet person in the Citadel, but surely it can wait until…”

Shaking his head, Gladio brushed Ignis’ hand away from the phone. “Then why is Iggy giving me the sad eyes and telling me that he knows we’re fucking?”

“Oh shit, what did you do to get the sad eyes?” Noctis said. Ignis sat up, wondering exactly what the _sad eyes_ were, but he didn’t have time to ask when Noctis caught up with the rest of Gladio’s sentence. “Ew, shit, Gladio, why would I want to fuck you?”

“Noctis,” Ignis said, licking his dry lips and chancing a brief look at Gladio. “What is a friend with benefits?”

“C’mon, you gotta know that one.”

“Humour me,” Ignis said, and Noctis sighed.

“Y’know, it’s a friend that gets all kinds of shit from you. Gladio benefits me by making sure I don’t die, and I benefit Gladio by getting him access to you...r food. Your food.”

“ _Noctis Lucis Caelum,”_ Gladio growled warningly, but Ignis ignored him.

“That isn’t quite right.”

“Bullshit,” Noctis scoffed, and Gladio snatched the phone away from Ignis before he could reply.

“Moogle it,” Gladio snarled as he ended the call. Ignis looked up at him with wide eyes, simultaneously relieved and confused, and Gladio was obviously busying himself with putting his phone back in his pocket.

“Gladio.”

“He’s sixteen years old and he doesn’t know how to look up stupid slang terms,” Gladio grumbled, seemingly more to himself than to Ignis.

“Gladio,” Ignis said again, a little more insistently. This time, Gladio actually looked up at him, and Ignis tried to make his expression as welcoming as possible. “What did you think Noctis was saying about you?”

“It’s not important.”

With a frown, Ignis shifted a little closer to Gladio. “It was enough to make you angry. You don’t get that way with Noct often, so if there’s something I can do to help…”

“Astrals, Iggy, why are you so damn perfect?”

Blinking dumbly, Ignis sat back. “I...what?”

“You’re so fucking perfect,” Gladio said, sounding more distraught than anything else. “You obviously hated the idea of me sleeping with Noct, but you wanted to keep us safe. Now you’re trying to make me feel better because I got mad at the dumbass I’m meant to protect?”

His elbows on his spread knees, Gladio let his head fall into his hands. He said something that Ignis couldn’t make out, too muffled by his palms, and he took a long while to look up when Ignis asked him to repeat it.

“I said,” Gladio muttered, Ignis finally noticing the blazing red of his cheeks, “that I thought Noct was blabbing about my thing for you.”

“Your thing,” Ignis said slowly, “for me.”

“Fucking Noct,” Gladio grumbled, and Ignis knew he didn’t really mean it. Even if Ignis apparently had been mislead as to the nature of their relationship, they _did_ adore each other, and this would pass like any number of other petty disputes.

Ignis had bigger, better things to focus on, after all.

“Gladio, tell me that you like me.”

“I like you,” Gladio said obediently, but he paused and frowned afterwards. “Wait, why-”

“I like you too,” Ignis said, and the painfully jealous weight in his gut dissolved into butterflies. “I like you so much, Gladio, and the thought of you sleeping with Noct tore me up inside.”

Gladio blinked, his head slowly tilting to the side, staying silent until a wide smile broke out across his face. “You serious?”

“Deadly,” Ignis said gravely, but his straight face only lasted a moment before Gladio’s excited grin made him smile too. Holding his hands out, his heart jumped when Gladio grabbed them, calloused fingers curling around his own.

“Can we go on a date?” Gladio asked. He sounded so excited that Ignis almost laughed, and he was sure that he had the most ridiculous look on his face.

“It’s gonna have to wait until after I kick Noct’s ass, though,” Gladio added. “Friends with benefits, what an idiot.”

“Don’t push him too hard,” Ignis said, still smiling fondly. “If he’d thought to look it up, we’d be staring at each other from across the Citadel.”

“Ah fuck, that reminds me that I’ve gotta get back to training. Text me later, okay?”

“Of course,” Ignis said, and his eyes went wide when Gladio dropped a kiss on his cheek as he ran out the door.

Absolutely dumbstruck, it took Ignis a while to be able to pull out his phone, opening a message for Noctis.

‘ _You’re not in trouble. Just clear things up with Prompto, perhaps.’_

In the silent stillness of the office, Ignis let himself laugh about the absurdity of the whole situation and his own giddy happiness, letting out a heavy breath that left him feeling weightless.

He was going to have to Have Words with Noctis, but it could wait.

He had a date to plan.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> [The original Tumblr post](http://moonlandingwasfaked.tumblr.com/post/170705662231)
> 
> Come see me on [Tumblr](http://socialdegenerate.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](http://twitter.com/socialdegener8)


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